“Formula
For Peace & Joy (Part 2)”
A Sermon from Leviticus 3 by Jim Hammond
Series
Title: Life Lessons from
Leviticus? (For
More In This Series )
We started this message, “Formula for Peace &
Joy” last week. So,
although this message is titled the same title (part 2), I’d like to
give it a subtitle—“No Spark? Get Plugged In”.
The focus this week is the same as last week.
Focus: God
designed us and tells us how to experience peace and joy.
Lasting peace and lasting joy cannot be found apart from a
relationship with God.
More than 60 scientists have been given millions of dollars in
funding to help humanity find happiness. …
Although
the U.S. standard of living has increased since W.W. II, there is no
increase in the number of people who regard themselves as happy. A U.S.
News & World Report on the subject says, "Once income
provides basic needs, it doesn't correlate to happiness. Nor does
intelligence, prestige, or sunny weather. People grow used to new
climates, higher salaries, and better cars."
Many
years and millions of dollars studying and treating depression have
succeeded in reducing most people's levels of sadness, but they are not
necessarily happier. Researchers have found that self-esteem,
spirituality, family, and good marriages and friendships are key to a
happy life. So are hope, meaning, and discovering and pursuing the right
goals. Even helping others to be happy can "jump-start a process
that will lead to stronger relationships, renewed hope, and a general
upward spiraling of happiness." …
Gratitude
is another key ingredient to a happy life. People who made a daily
and/or frequent practice of being thankful were "not only more
joyful; they were healthier, less stressed, more optimistic, and more
likely to help others."
Hope and
spirituality work together to provide an important basis to a happy
life. "Hope fosters optimism, and faith is, by definition, hope for
the future…"[i]
Last week, we talked about the woman who
ordered a new computer but had difficulty making it work, and the tech
support person who couldn’t figure out the problem until he came on
site. She had the computer
properly plugged into the surge protector, but the surge protector
plugged into itself!
We focused last week on how that’s a
great picture of how many of us attempt to find peace and joy. We plug into ourselves, and this is a closed system.
God tells us we won’t truly celebrate until we plug into him.
We’ve got to get plugged in outside of ourselves if we really
want to find peace, and joy, and purpose for living.
A Statistic:
Percent of men who say they deal with depression by trying to figure
out their problems: 23
Percent who say they deal with depression by watching television: 35 [ii]
According to the statistics, when the going gets tough, more people
are disengaging rather than trying to engage
QUESTION: When you are
down and the spark is gone, do you try to unplug, or do you try to get
plugged in? There are times
when unplugging is not a bad option, but are we numbing our pain rather
than seeking reconciliation?
Many are those who sit on the side lines to watch and enjoy, few are
those who roll their sleeves up and commit to the work of
reconciliation...
Leviticus is about reconciliation.
It’s about getting plugged back into God’s supply.
By way of review, last week we learned
that…
I.
The Leviticus 3 Rite--(A Celebration Of Fellowship)
It was not just a sacrifice, but a thanksgiving
feast, voluntarily offered as a celebration of the goodness of God.
II.
The Leviticus 3 Lesson
A. Everyone Needs Peace
with
God
B. Everyone Needs A Party
We learned that God built into worship, a
celebration, a feast, a party. Leviticus
3; 7:12-21; and Deuteronomy 12:4-8;
& 16:10-11, demonstrated to us how this “Peace/Fellowship/Freewill
offering” was a feast celebration.
v
Joyous Voluntary Celebrations Please God
v
Connecting Gives us Reason to Celebrate
Now, picking up where we left off
last week:
III.
How to Restore Peace & Joy to the Point of Celebration
You say, “Jim, I’ve already accepted Christ.
I’ve confessed my sins, but I still find myself struggling in
the area of peace and joy.” As we learned last week, there might be a number of reasons
for this. It could be that
peace and joy were lost when there was a barrier introduced between you
and God. Perhaps there has
been a “rational lie” as one rationalizes away behavior that is
contrary to God’s Holiness. First,
the broken relationship with God has to be dealt with.
Sin breaks the intimacy God has designed for us in a relationship
with Him. Something must be
done about sin.
A. First
Peace, Then the Party
Leviticus has outlined for us the formula for peace
and joy in a logical progression. Even
if we don’t practice the Old Testament rituals, the Reality of the New
Covenant follows the same formula as outlined here in Leviticus.
First, let’s talk about he Leviticus formula, then we can see
the New Covenant counterpart.
1.
FIRST THE SUBSTITUTION (the burnt offering in Leviticus 1),
2.
THEN THE TRIBUTE, offering yourself to God as your Lord and
Master (the grain offering tribute in Leviticus 2),
3.
THEN THE CELEBRATION (the Leviticus 3 fellowship offering feast
is the first offering the worshipper actually gets to eat and enjoy in
the company of friends (see Leviticus 3, & 7, and Deuteronomy
“freewill offering” 12:4-8; & 16:10-11)
You
can only have peace and joy with others when you have peace and joy with
God.
You don’t celebrate peace with God (Leviticus 3)
until you have the benefits that come from the realities Leviticus 1
& 2 symbolize. You have
to admit that you are a sinner and allow the exchange to take place, to
allow Christ to take your place.
You can see the New Covenant parallel so readily
can’t you? First you
receive Christ as Savior (Pictured already in Leviticus chapter 1), then
it is natural to offer yourself to Christ because he’s Lord (Pictured
in Leviticus chapter 2), then you Celebrate Christ (Pictured in
Leviticus chapter 3).
No Peace, No Party.
You’ve got to have the peace first—Leviticus 1
and 2, then you can have the celebration of Leviticus 3.
4.
Check Your Connection
The New Covenant has a “Fellowship Celebration”
built into it. What meal do
we participate in that includes celebration and a connection with the
peace offered by promise? That’s
right, Communion. Communion
is a way of re-connecting with the grace that is offered.
We are urged to confess, and partake of the offered grace
properly. This is a built in celebration.
Like the fellowship offering it isn’t designed to be done
alone, but in celebration with the body of Christ, the church. When Paul tells us to be careful to “discern the Body” we
must be careful to recognize Jesus himself, as well as his church, the
body of Christ. This meal
reminds us that we are united as a body.
Check your connection with God, and with One another.
There are many practical ways to check your connection.
This is one God built in. Here’s
another.
Have you been unplugged?
Tyndale House Publishers found evidence that reading the Bible
promotes a positive outlook. According to a study they commissioned with
the Barna Research Group:
Eighty-two percent of
regular Bible readers described themselves as "at peace"
compared to 58 percent of those who said they never read the Bible.
Seventy-eight percent of
regular Bible readers said they felt "happy" all or most of
the time compared to 67 percent of nonreaders.
Sixty-eight percent of
regular Bible readers said they were "full of joy" compared to
44 percent who said they never read the Bible.[iii]
C. Celebrate With Others
If we disconnect from God and others, we will soon
be struggling with our peace and joy.
Did you hear what I’m saying?
It’s not just about connecting with God all individually and
personally. It is also
about connecting with God in the context of celebrating and connecting
with the community of God. I’ve
seen how people miss this so often.
When people try to go it alone—“Me and God we’ve got it
together”—they soon find themselves slipping, and struggling, alone,
isolated, and easily picked off by the pressures, temptations, and
attacks of the enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion.
Stay connected. Not just with God in personal times of Bible Reading and
prayer, but also, stay connected in fellowship with others. That’s the way God designed us, to grow within the matrix
of relational connectedness.
We see these concepts here in Leviticus, but we
also see it clearly in the New Testament.
The fact is, Leviticus helped God’s people to see it even more
clearly because they had been prepared to see it.
The Old Testament shadow pictures became the New Testament
realities (again, see Hebrews 10 for this concept).
See if you can catch all the Leviticus terminology in the
following New Testament passage.
Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV) 15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a
sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for
with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Notice the
converging similar themes here:
1.
Sacrifice, but this time it’s not an animal sacrifice,
but the fruit of lips (v. 15) and actions (v. 16).
2.
Sacrifice of Praise, or thanksgiving, or celebration, this
is the voluntary response from a thankful heart.
3.
Peace (fellowship) with God IS “through Jesus” (15)
4.
God is pleased (16), that is what it’s all about.
5.
The theme of Fellowship (peace) with others is found in the
phrase share with others…; bring them the peace and joy also.
6.
Not the phrase “continually.”
Not only is the sacrifice no longer through the priests but “through
Jesus,” it is no longer occasional, but continual.
This is our New Covenant
response to God. God moved
us away from merely a ceremonial joy, but to a real and better joy of
celebration, a lifestyle celebration that is continual.
It is the real versus the ceremonial.
Hebrews was written to Jews who had become Christians.
It was written before the temple was destroyed.
These new converts had to come to terms with a changed way of
worship. It was no longer
through animal blood sacrifices and Temple centered because Jesus
fulfilled all of that. New
Covenant believers now offer sacrifices of praise, the fruit of our
lips, and service. Let’s
spend some time with the word “continually”.
Before you
start your busy day, offer your sacrifice of praise.
When your day starts to really get cranking, offer your sacrifice of
praise.
When your day winds down, offer up the fruit of your lips.
When things are going great, praise him.
When things are challenging, or tough, praise him. Why?
Through Jesus we have every reason to thank God.
Through Jesus we are forgiven, accepted, and empowered.
Through Jesus, empowered to offer your sacrifice of praise.
Through Jesus we can offer fruit of our lips
Through Jesus we can offer personal sacrifices of ACTION to serve
others.
THIS IS LEVITICUS FULFILLED AND AMPLIFIED
Perhaps the first Jewish Christians at
first felt strange, not participating in the sacrifices, especially the
celebration feasts associated with them.
But here they are taught the better way, the celebration of life
in a more meaningful way. It
isn’t through the priests anymore; it is through Jesus.
It isn’t occasional anymore; it is continual.
Here, the real meaning of the Leviticus sacrifices are amplified.
It isn’t just about animals and feasts, it is about worshipping
God continually and helping others and sharing life with others
continually. It isn’t
about when things are going great and you are blessed.
It is about honoring God even when things are difficult as most
certainly they were with these Hebrew Christians.
Host a Count-It-All-Joy-Celebration
One
pastor in Florida hosted count-it-all-joy parties every now and then. He
so believed passage in James 1:2 that when he would face a difficult
situation, he would call friends over to his house. He'd say, "I
want you to come over to my house for a party." They'd say,
"Oh, is it a birthday?" "No," he would say.
"Uh, you got a promotion?" they'd continue. "No,"
he'd say. "What's the situation?" they would finally ask.
"Well,"
he'd say, "I'm going through this incredibly difficult crisis right
now, and I'm having a count-it-all-joy party. We're going to celebrate
the difficulty, because I know that this difficulty is going to bring
something of special value to my life. I don't know what it is yet, but
I want you to come and count it all joy with me."
Have any of you ever thrown a count-it-all-joy party? I haven't
either. To tell you the truth, it's tough to consider it pure joy while
it still hurts. The closest
I’ve come to this is leaning on the support of my care group, or other
close fellowships for prayer support.
Even if I’m not really “celebrating” I am drawing near to
the fellowship support to bolster my faith and strength.
I BELIEVE CELEBRATION NEEDS TO BE PRACTICED: Perhaps we ought to start first with the celebration of all
the good that comes from Christ. Until
we get good at this, we will never be good at the celebration of trust
even when things are difficult!
Show me someone who
lives for himself, and for pleasure (i.e., connecting into himself in
that closed system, like the surge protector plugged into itself) and I
will show you a man who will eventually be miserable and bored.
The difference between you and the surge protector model is that
you have just enough remnant power—call it the remaining power of the
image of God in you, that you can run connected into your self for a
short while. It might even
feel fulfilling for a very limited time.
But, like the surge protector, there’s no real lasting power,
peace, or joy. It’s a
closed system. It is not
the way God designed you.
Show me a man who lives
for God and I will show you someone who has found the secret to
happiness, peace, and joy beyond circumstances.
He has something to do, something to love, and he is loved, and
he has something to hope for. He
is fulfilled, and lives life with meaning and purpose.
He’s plugged in, he’s connected and enjoys that connection.
Once you get plugged into God, you have peace and
joy. When you have peace
and joy, you have the ability to love.
When one is loved, he really has the ability to love someone
else. When one is forgiven,
he has the ability to forgive someone else.
The Lamp (A visual illustration)
The surge protector story is a modern picture.
Did you know Jesus already used a similar analogy only it
wasn’t so modern? Do you
remember the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25?
Do you remember how the foolish virgins, the ones who were
missing a few tools in the tool shed, or missing a few batteries in
their flashlight, forgot to bring oil for their lamps!
The foolish ones weren’t ready.
As the oil was running out, they asked the wise virgins for some
oil. But being wise, they
knew they couldn’t spare any and be ready themselves.
We learn from this a number of things.
You can’t rely on someone else’s connection to be connected
ourselves. You can’t rely
on someone else’s preparedness to be ready ourselves.
From the analogy of the lamp, we also learn that
when the oil is gone, you might see a flickering flame for a while, as
long as the wick will burn. Burn-out
is experienced when the wick burns rather than the oil.
Scripture often uses oil as a symbol for the Holy Spirit.
It fits rather well here. As
long as we have the Holy Spirit, we can let our lights shine.
Think of the Hebrews 13 passage, it is “through Jesus” that
our lights can shine through sacrifices.
Sacrifices are not to be made without the oil, or apart from
Jesus. Christianity is not
merely an effort on our part to learn the dos and don’ts and attempt
to follow them. No.
It is receiving the gift “through Jesus” that fills our lamps
and allows us to shine because we are connected to Jesus, and Jesus is
plugged into us, or filling us, through his Spirit.
How many of you feel like you are burning out?
It’s because your wick is burning rather than the oil.
That oil has to come from God.
He fills you. You
have to plug it. And God
plugs into you. Let your
light shine, it’s not hard, but you have to pass through Leviticus 1,
and 2, first. First the exchange, then offer yourselves, then let it shine!
Remember, no peace, no party.
But if you have peace, you have a party.
In fact you have the resources to begin to change your world.
[i] Holly J. Morris,
"Happiness Explained," U.S. News & World Report
(9-03-01), pp. 46-54
[ii] Roper Organization, cited
in Harper's Index, 12/89. "To Verify," Leadership
[iii] The Southeast
Outlook (11-22-01); researchers interviewed 1,004 adults
chosen to reflect the U.S.'s regional and ethnic makeup, with a
sampling error of plus/minus 3 percent; submitted by Van Morris,
Mount Washington, Kentucky
|
